


Hell or High Water

by PeachyKeener



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Harley Keener as Iron Lad, M/M, Peter isnt a BAD GUY in this hes just a bad guy, Peters nice tho and takes pity on him, Side Kick to the Avengers! Harley, Tony shows up for like three seconds, Villain! Peter, and not even that hes got his own crooked logic, either way though, happy ending!, hes bleeding out!, hes really hurt!, oh yeah this isnt violent so much as it is harley whump, theyre kinda cute kinda dumb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:13:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27017089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeachyKeener/pseuds/PeachyKeener
Summary: Fighting back a wince, Peter stood, limping his way through the darkness. His eyes adjusted as he went.Fuck.He knew what the Avengers were chasing him for.Harley Keener was laying in the alleyway he had landed in, Iron Lad suit broken around him, and considerably more bruised than Peter was.Fuck.aka Peter is a "villain" who saves hiscrushschool buddy who just sohappensto be a hero in training.
Relationships: Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Tony Stark, Harley Keener/Peter Parker
Comments: 23
Kudos: 324





	Hell or High Water

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shaderose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaderose/gifts).



> thank you to the gc for helping me figure out what to write i love you
> 
> me?? posting at 8'oclock at night again!! yeah?? apparently. Apparently. 
> 
> So big warning, peter is a liddol unhinged in this one and it's a liddol disturbing but i think its not as bad as it could be? the injury descriptions arnet very graphic though.
> 
> Shout out to Ava for always helping me out!! I love you!! you are the best beta reader!!

Peter didn’t think of himself as a criminal. Or a killer. Or a vigilante. Or anything that the Avengers and the Hero Commission liked to label him as. He wasn’t any of those things. He was a person who had been gifted with powers, and now, was going to spend every moment he could tracking down the bad people. 

After all, when a person had the powers that Peter had and they didn’t stop the bad guy, did that make them any better than the bad guy? He personally believed  _ no.  _ It didn’t make you better. In fact, in Peter’s opinion, if he could’ve stopped something, and you didn’t, then it rested on his shoulders, it was  _ his _ fault. 

And even more, if they weren’t brought to justice, like so many, it was his fault for making sure they didn’t stay out of people’s lives. 

Maybe it was an unhealthy way of thinking. 

But it led him to what he’d been doing for the past five years. Killing was one of his least favorite tasks, so he saved it for the worst people- people who wouldn’t or couldn’t change for the better. He just did it because he couldn’t let those types of people out there, living in a world where they got off scot-free to commit their crimes again and again and again until someone locked them up for good. Or they just lived their life to the fullest, always hurting others, always doing things that were  _ wrong.  _

Peter wasn’t the kind of guy to just  _ look away  _ from that. 

So while the Avengers and the Hero Commission were off fighting global threats, Hydra or whatever, he was working on the ground. Close to home. Close to people that actually needed a hero like him to save them from those types of people that always got off the hook and came back to hurt others. His uncle Ben had been proud of him for what he was doing. Now that Ben had passed, he was sure his uncle was still proud of him. Even if in the eyes of the law, it made him a ‘villain.’ A ‘criminal’. It sure as hell made him wanted by the Avengers.

Which also led him up to this moment, where he was currently evading the entirety of the Avengers in a desperate attempt to save his own skin. He had no idea  _ why  _ they were coming after him- well, he did, since he was an internationally wanted criminal- but they  _ were _ coming after him. And well. That didn’t really make for a good situation. After all, his webs could only go so fast. 

“C’mon Stark,” he called over his shoulder, trying to gage how far behind him Iron Man was, “We’ve existed peacefully in the same city for years!” 

“Then you did this!” Tony Stark roared in a very not Tony Stark fashion. “I turn a blind eye from everything but not this!”    
  
A repulsor blast whizzed past his head, and Peter felt his heart stutter in his chest. “I literally haven’t done anything tonight!”    
  
“Liar!"

He swung sharply past a building, thinking quickly about how he could escape the clutches of the team following him. There was no real escape plan, not in his mind. Unless- he turned again, circling a building with his web and jerking towards one direction towards a fake lead, he dropped. 

There was absolutely nothing more in the world that he hated than landing on his back after a thirty foot drop. The crunch was always something that made his head pound, and even though his body would heal all the fractures and breaks within the next thirty minutes, it never ever felt good. Peter was actually very very lucky, because one wrong move with that stunt would’ve left him vulnerable to the Avengers as his body healed. Iron Man flew past the building, the rest of the flying Avengers following, and he knew if he turned his head, the Avengers on the ground would be following the ones in the sky. 

He breathed a sigh of relief, and relaxed. This was fine. This was fine. This was fine. 

Racking his mind, Peter searched for whatever he did that would’ve made the Avengers mad at him. That night, he’d…he’d eaten pizza with Ned and Ned’s cousin, Ganke, and Ganke’s best friend, Miles, in Brooklyn. He’d done his laundry. He’d finished his photography final. He’d…he hadn’t even been patrolling five minutes when the Avengers had started chasing him. Genuinely, he’d done nothing that could even be considered ‘criminal activity that was large enough to get the attention of the Avengers.’ 

As he groaned, feeling came through in his back and he sat up to stretch it. A soft series of pops later, his back was feeling much much better, but his arm and left leg were still in enough pain to make him see spots. As much as he’d hate it, he’d have to pack it in for the night, because he was already gonna be sore as fuck tomoroow-

The moan of pain was so quiet that Peter was sure he would’ve missed it if he hadn’t had super hearing. It was quiet, unconscious, and genuinely the most terrifying sound that Peter had ever heard. His head snapped to the darkness of the alleyway. 

“Hello?”    
  
Another quiet groan. 

Fighting back a wince, Peter stood, limping his way through the darkness. His eyes adjusted as he went. 

Fuck. 

He knew what the Avengers were chasing him for. 

Harley Keener was laying in the alleyway he had landed in, Iron Lad suit broken around him, and considerably more bruised than Peter was.

Fuck. 

Fear roiled in his gut-  _ no.  _ No. Harley couldn’t be hurt- no- no no- no- no- 

Dropping to his knees, he tried to clear off some of the Iron Lad armor. “Hey- hey- Harley, it’s gonna be okay.”    
  
“...mhm…” Harley’s voice was pained, and Peter could feel his hands shake. “Pete…”    
  
Jerking, he pulled off the mask. “I’m here. I’m here. I promise I’m here.”    
  
“‘S not,” Harley’s brow furrowed in confusion instead of pain. “‘s not time for class.”    
  
“No, baby, it’s not.” 

The pet name had slipped out. They weren’t dating. They were barely even friends. But his crush on Harley had always been there, and now his crush was laying, bleeding out in an alleyway, with only him around. 

“You’re hurt, Harls.”    
  
“‘M not…” Harley blinked, eyes blurry and unfocused. “Y’re pretty.” 

“Thank you, baby-” Peter’s chest felt small. He’d seen so many deaths but this one- this couldn’t be a death. “You’re gonna be okay, alright?”    
  
“Mmm…” Closing his eyes, Harley’s breathing evened. 

Peter fought back the panic, and instead gathered the other boy in his arms, slowly beginning to make his way home. 

Harley’s eyes stayed closed the entire time. 

  
  
  


Harley woke up in a small bedroom that smelt like pine and vanilla. That was the first thing he noticed. The room he was in smelled like vanilla, and pine, and it was overwhelmingly familiar, and…and he was in way too much pain to register much else. Christ, he thought, what happened last night?

A dull ache was pounding in the back of his head and it wasn’t the fun kind of ache that came after a wild night out or a concert or something he genuinely enjoyed. No, this one was full of pain. Struggling, he sat up, and looked around. The bedroom was messy, the walls a soft gray color, and the sheets he was in a deep red. There was a desk in the room, and on it were text books on journalism, and communications, and… and the same chemistry book that he was used to staring at in study sessions. 

Peter Parker’s chemistry book. 

He blinked the thought away, taking in the rest of the room. There wasn’t much else to it. Dozens of photos- some of people Harley knew, like Ned and Betty, and some of people Harley didn’t know, like an older woman with long hair and round glasses- were hanging around the room, and the closet door was cracked open just enough so that he could see the red and blue of the Spider-Suit. Fuck- what?    
  
His head pounded harder. 

Shakily, he made his way to his feet, forcing himself up. He held onto the wall, making his way through the corridor. “Peter.”    
  
“Harley-” The boy in question was suddenly at his side, brow furrowed tightly, worry clear in those big doe eyes. “You shouldn’t be up, Harls.”    
  
Peter’s hands found their way around his waist, and in one quick motion, the other boy had scooped him up bridal-style. “You’re hurt.”    
  
“And you’re Spider-Man.” The words were quet and honest, and Peter didn’t react to them, “Aren’t you? That’s….that’s how you found me last night.”    
  
“I wasn’t gonna hide it from you, not when you’re hurt like this and I can help.” Peter’s eyes were still worried as he gently set Harley on the couch, kneeling on the floor next to it. “I can help.”    
  
Harley felt like his head was spinning. “I- you’re  _ Spider-Man.”  _

“And you’re  _ hurt.”  _

“One of those things is way more important than the other one.”    
  
For the first time since he’d woken up, he saw Peter falter. “Does it bother you that I’m a vigilante?”    
  
“I-” No, it didn’t bother Harley. In fact, Harley’s chest felt warm. Spider-Man’s identity was something coveted and no one really knew. The fact that Peter  _ trusted  _ him with this… “Not really. Not as much as it should. I guess I’m just- I’m just confused.” 

“I’m confused too,” Peter soothed, and his eyes turned serious. “But I need you to focus, Harley. I found you in an alley beaten half to death. The Avengers have been looking for you for three days-”   


“-Three days?!-”   
  
“-And the last time I interacted with them, they accused me of doing something to you.” The other boy's voice was serious. “But I could never ever do anything to you. I need you to tell me who did.”    
  
His head pounded more. “What- I don’t- I don’t know who did.”    
  
“Yes you do,” Peter prodded, and he laced their hands together. “You mumbled about it in your sleep. The attack.”    
  
“I did?” Startling slightly, he squeezed Peter’s hand. “I talk in my sleep?”    
  
“About the attack and-” His friend’s ears tipped red. “And me. But this isn’t about that as much as I wish it was. I need to know who attacked you.”    
  
“Oh God.” Harley’s head pounded again, and he tried to fight back the flush at the realization that he had probably confessed to his  _ crush  _ in his  _ sleep.  _ “I don’t- it’s all cloudy- it was really- dark. Dark. The person attacking me wore a suit that was dark and hard to pick out. It- uh- it had some type of design on it.”    
  
Peter tensed hard. “So that’s why they thought it was me.”    
  
“Peter- your suit is red and blue-”    
  
“The design was a spider-web.” Peter’s voice was much more serious than Harley had ever heard it, and for a split second he realized he wasn’t talking to Peter. He was talking to Spider-Man. “I know who did this to you, baby. I know who did this to you.”    
  
“You-”    
  
“Alias is Venom, I don’t know his identity.” The danger in his voice had been making an edge, and Harley tried to ignore how hard that made him shiver, tingles of arousal that  _ shouldn’t be there _ making their way up his spine. “I should’ve killed him. I should’ve. And now I’m  _ going too.”  _

And suddenly Harley was shivering for a different reason, dread pooling in his stomach. “No- please don’t-”    
  
“He  _ hurt you,”  _ Peter insisted, eyes blazing, “That’s not okay. That’s  _ not.  _ I know you won’t ever agree with it, Harley, but someone hurt you and I will  _ not  _ just sit here and let that happen. Ever again.”    
  
“You-” Harley swallowed- this was all so much to process. “Why me? Why?”    
  
Peter just looked at him, and this time, it was time for Harley’s ears to turn red. Oh.  _ Oh.  _ His friend- maybe boyfriend, because to be honest, he wasn't sure the whole killing thing  _ did  _ bother him too much. Maybe that made him a bad person. Maybe he didn’t care- was staring at him with so much  _ warmth.  _

“Okay- but-” Harley licked his lips. “We have to talk about this. You- you can’t kill people just because they hurt me.”    
  
“Yes, I can,” Peter said quietly. “We’ve…in our study group before, you’ve always said you supported Spider-Man. That the people he killed all deserve it. This one deserves it.”    
  
“Because you kill rapists and child molesters, Peter, you don’t kill people just because they hurt me.” 

“He’ll hurt more people, Harley.” Peter squeezed his hand again. “And then whose fault will it be for not stopping him? Mine.”    
  
“That's not-” 

“Yes it is.”    
  
Despite the burning sensation it caused, he reached out to press a hand to Peter’s cheek. “Is that why you do it? Because of that.”    
  
“Yeah.” Peter’s voice was quiet. “Because of that.”    


They breathed together in silence for a second, and Harley tried to sort through all of his feelings. Peter Parker liked him, and was also Spider-Man, and was also going to kill this Venom guy, and Harley was technically a superhero tasked with catching Spider-Man. Not that any of the Avengers actually cared that much about catching him.

“I-”  
  
“I had a plan to ask you out,” Peter spoke quickly, the change in topics giving Harley whiplash. “But I get it if this makes you want to stop talking to me.”   
  
“It doesn’t,” Harley admitted, far too quickly for his liking. “I’m just- so confused. On how you’re Spider-Man. You’re my dorky crush from chemistry that could get a PhD in the subject but likes photojournalism too much to actually pursue that. And somehow you’re also the vigilante that kills bad guys and arrests the ones who just do robbery. It’s- it’s hard to believe.”   
  
“I’m so-”  
  
“Don’t. Don’t you dare apologize,” Harley breathed, eyes wide. “Just- you can kill people and still be a hero. Fuck- Bucky and Natasha on the Avengers both kill people with the hero’s liscense. My dad’s killed, _Steve’s_ killed. Let me get you licensed and- and- do it the right way.”   
  
Peter blinked, like he hadn’t been expecting that. “Oh.”   
  
“Yeah, oh,” Harley huffed, “You’re an idiot.”   
  
“Your idiot,” Peter said, clearly on instinct by the way he flushed, and his grip loosened. “I mean-”   
  
“Yeah.” Harley nodded, ignoring the pain he was in. “My idiot.” 

They sat in silence again, just looking at each other fondly until Harley spoke gently, “Now come on. Let's call my dad, and get me to the medbay, because I think you’re adorable, but you do  _ not  _ know how to do stitches, and I’m 98% sure I reopened the ones on my thigh when I stood up.”    
  
“Harley-!”    
  
  


  
  


Many, many, many months later, Spider-Man would be given official hero status, having killed a villain named Venom who attempted to assassinate each active hero. While he was sworn in, people were keen to notice that Iron Lad was standing next to him. 

Coincidently, Harley Keener and Peter Parker went on their first official date the very next day, after months of wondering where they each stood. (Their first kiss was technically the day after that; it was past midnight.)

**Author's Note:**

> Hit me up @ Peachy-Keener on tumblr and please leave a comment if you want!


End file.
